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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Getupp Helps You Stick to Your Goals by Notifying Your Friends If You Fail [Webapp]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/#!5783788/getupp-helps-you-stick-to-your-goals-by-making-your-friends-confirm-your-actions

Getupp is a neat webapp that helps you set your goals and share them publicly so you're held accountable to the world. To make sure keep your commitments, Getupp can notify your Facebook friends if you break a commitment so you can be sure everyone will find out that you're a slacker.

Making a commitment is very easy. Getupp uses Facebook to authenticate you, as it's a Facebook-based app, and from there you just choose your category, enter in what you're going to do, when you need to do it, how flexible that due date is, and how public you want your commitment to be. You don't have to alert everybody of your success or failure each time, but it is an option to help keep you accountable. If public humiliation is a big motivator for you—and it is a popular and successful method lately—Getupp is a free and easy option.

UPDATE: You can also grab the free iPhone app. It uses location-based services to keep track of where you are so it'll know when you're headed to the gym, for example, to meet your commitment to run (or not).

Getupp

You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter and Facebook. If you'd like to contact him, Twitter is the most effective means of doing so.

Chrome 11 Arrives in Beta with Speech Input and New Icon [Updates]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/#!5784771/chrome-11-arrives-in-beta-with-speech-input-and-new-icon

Windows/Mac/Linux: Chrome 11 has made its way to the Beta release of Chrome, bringing with it an HTML5-powered speech input ability (which you can test out here), GPU-powered 3D CSS rendering, and, most immediately noticeable, the new, flatter Chrome icon. Chrome 11 is due to hit the Stable release relatively soon, given how quickly it moved into Beta. [Chrome Releases Blog via TechCrunch]

Gigabyte's 15.6-inch P2532: world's thinnest second-gen Core i7 laptop (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/22/gigabytes-15-6-inch-p2532-worlds-thinnest-second-gen-core-i7/

We suspect that some other laptop manufacturer will be coming out of the woodwork in around 4.98 seconds here to refute Gigabyte's claim, but as of now, the 15.6-inch P2532 above is the planet's thinnest laptop with a second-generation (Sandy Bridge) Core i7 CPU. It's not "ultrathin," per se, but for packing such a serious amount of horsepower, it's definitely on the anorexic side of things. Our pals over at TweakTown managed to get their paws on one, and they noted that it was sporting a 1920 x 1080 resolution display, a 500GB (7200RPM) hard drive, NVIDIA's GeForce GT550M (2GB) with Optimus technology, a DVD burner, two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, four speakers, a makeshift subwoofer and more ventilation ports than would normally be considered healthy. The company's also offering up a smattering of interchangeable lids, with the pastel yellow one in particular catching our eye -- can't say it's for the right reasons, but we digress. Sadly, there's no price or release date to share just yet, but there is a hands-on video just past the break. Head on down and hit play, won't you?

Continue reading Gigabyte's 15.6-inch P2532: world's thinnest second-gen Core i7 laptop (video)

Gigabyte's 15.6-inch P2532: world's thinnest second-gen Core i7 laptop (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google scores a patent for its 'Doodles'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/22/google-scores-a-patent-for-its-doodles/

Google's Doodles have certainly come a long way from their humble beginnings, but the company has now pulled off what may be its most jaw-dropping feat yet -- it's just been awarded a patent for them. Described as "systems and methods for enticing users to access a web site," the patent credits Google co-founder Sergey Brin as the sole inventor, and it comes more than ten years after Google first filed the application. As you might expect, the patent seems to cover some fairly broad territory, although it's not clear how or if Google actually plans to enforce it -- either way, we can only assume that some other companies who enjoy having a bit fun with their logo from time to time might have something to say about it.

Google scores a patent for its 'Doodles' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boeing's biggest jet takes flight, promises lowest 'seat mile' cost of any commercial airliner

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/22/boeings-biggest-jet-takes-flight-promises-lowest-seat-mile-c/

Boeing took a huge -- both literally and figuratively -- step in the development of the largest commercial jet in its history when the 747-8 took to the skies for the first time. Granted, the airframe's cargo version has already logged over 1,600 hours up in the air, but putting the 250-foot passenger plane with a 224-foot wingspan -- 19 feet longer and 13 feet wider than the gargantuan 747-400 -- through its first few paces without incident is no small feat. The 747-8 borrows some of the 787 Dreamliner's weight-trimming tech for better fuel efficiency and lower operational costs than older 747s and jumbo jet competition from Airbus. We just hope it didn't inherit the 787's penchant for delays as well. If all goes according to plan, the new jetliner should complete the 600 test flight hours needed for FAA certification in time to deliver the first 747-8s to customers by the end of the year. We doubt airlines will use the plane's extra space to give us shlubs riding coach any more legroom, but at least its improved all-around efficiency should make flying a little cheaper. PR's after the break.

Continue reading Boeing's biggest jet takes flight, promises lowest 'seat mile' cost of any commercial airliner

Boeing's biggest jet takes flight, promises lowest 'seat mile' cost of any commercial airliner originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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